Mercurial: Ace Evans Book 5 (Ace Evans Series), page 10
“What?”
“The engines have gone offline. We aren’t sure why.”
“It’s a cyberattack, Captain,” Lynn said as calmly as she could. “You have an intruder hacking into the computer system and turning things off.”
There was a pause. She could imagine the captain’s face as the truth of her words registered. If he was quick, he might have looked over at the computer controls and tried turning things back on, but the lack of gravity persisted.
“Ma’am, we also have a ship moving to intercept.”
“What kind of ship?” Lynn Faulk asked.
“It’s a warship,” the captain explained. “The transponder lists it as the Ahzco military vessel Drachma.”
Lynn had no idea what ships Ahzco had or what they were called. That type of information was beneath her. But she had no doubt who was commanding the ship. Loman Haley, VP of security at Ahzco, had been a thorn in her side for too long. His little spies had rooted out her plans, and he had somehow convinced Alex to betray her. The arrogant little twerp didn’t know what was good for him. He could have had so much, but he chose to throw it all away for some misguided loyalty to a man who probably saw him as nothing more than a pawn at his disposal. The VP might be able to have a positive influence on Evans’ career, but that was nothing compared to what she could have offered.
“Launch the drones,” she ordered.
“Ma’am?”
“The drones, Captain. I want them launched and sent to attack the Drachma. Do it now, before Evans blocks you.”
“Yes, of course,” the captain stammered.
She didn’t bother to end the call. Instead, she pressed a hidden button on the side of her desk, just under the flat top. It was a computer kill switch that would destroy her personal server and all the information on it. The system had been installed in case of pirates or hijackers took control of the ship, but Lynn Faulk didn’t want her personal information falling into anyone’s hands. Unlike her foolish compatriots, she didn’t keep incriminating evidence on her computer system where even the most inept thief or law enforcement official would look. But she did have banking codes and financial documents on her computer system. The last thing she wanted was to have someone snooping through her life.
The AI, her ideal man, vanished instantly. He was nothing but a high-resolution hologram, but she still felt a pang of disappointment. She liked having a handsome man standing ready to carry out her every whim, even if he wasn’t real. She held herself down with one hand, so that the lack of gravity didn’t send her drifting up, and opened the bottom drawer. It looked as if it were filled with files, but they were a decoy. She took hold of the files and lifted out the false cover that hid an emergency kit beneath. There was a shoulder bag filled with supplies, including several banking chips with several hundred credits on each one. Beside the bag was a belt with survival tools in pouches all around. A high-powered flashlight, a small oxygen tank, a filter for nose and mouth that would block toxic gases, a multitool, and most importantly, a laser pistol. She hooked one foot under her desk and stood up. She slung the pack over one shoulder and strapped the emergency belt around her waist, just as the door to her office slid open.
She drew the pistol, her thumb flicking off the safety, before she realized it was General Cordair who was floating into her office. He looked grim.
“The kid cut the feed from the security cameras,” he said. “We pegged his last location as the waste disposal, but he’s not there anymore.”
“He got rid of the PIL,” Lynn Faulk said calmly. “He must have known we were tracking it.”
“The ship’s big,” Cordair said. “There are lots of places to hide. And he’s got help.”
“Who?” Lynn said, stuffing the pistol back into the holster.
“One of the waitstaff,” Cordair said.
“The one we tasked to test him?”
“I think so,” Cordair said.
“Don’t do that,” she said as she drifted up over her desk. “Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear.”
“It was Candice. She’s obviously fallen for him,” Cordair replied. “I’m sorry.”
“The lack of loyalty on this ship is appalling,” Lynn snapped. “I’m taking the shuttle and getting out of the system. You can come with me or stay here and deal with this problem.”
“I’ll come,” Cordair said.
Lynn knew what he would choose even before she asked. He was competent under the right circumstances, but she had chosen him to lead Sigma Services because of his looks. He was dashing, which she liked, but more importantly, the Operators and Controllers that would be under his command would assume he was competent because of those looks. Beauty, she had found, gave a person an edge in life. He would be given the benefit of the doubt because he was handsome, and his lack of initiative combined with his inexperience would make him pliable, which was exactly what she wanted—someone who would carry out her every command without question.
Her office was just above the grand concourse, just inside the command center. They used the narrow walls to propel down to the wide-open space that ran the length of the ship. She would have liked to have moved faster, but it was impossible. They drifted through the large, open concourse, flying over seating areas and dining groups. There were no people in sight. Lynn liked having the huge ship to herself. There were a few guests, but she assumed they were hiding in their staterooms. The large windows along the ceiling of the concourse were a bit frightening with the artificial gravity turned off.
General Cordair was higher than Lynn, who tried to stay low just in case the crew managed to turn the artificial gravity back on. When they reached the entrance to the shuttle Lynn caught herself on the door frame, halting her progress smoothly. Even in zero gravity, she was a woman of poise and grace. Cordair, on the other hand, crashed hard into the bulkhead and nearly went spinning off in the opposite direction before catching himself on a light fixture. He overcompensated and pulled too hard, which only flung him headlong into the wall again.
“If you lose control, I’ll leave you behind,” she stated without emotion.
“I’ve got it,” Cordair said, sounding desperate.
He was not convincing, but as she opened the door and pulled herself into the corridor that led to the shuttle, which was really just a regular-sized yacht in a retractable bubble on the top of the ship, he managed to follow her. She could only hope that with the shuttle being a completely autonomous system, she might be able to get away before Alex Evans took control of her vessel too. She punched in the security code on the shuttle’s outer air lock. It opened and she went through. The vessel was powered down, and there was no gravity until she came to a wall panel that allowed her to engage the startup sequence. It included powering on the vessel’s artificial gravity. She suddenly felt as if she weighed five hundred pounds. General Cordair was completely unprepared and dropped onto his stomach. He lay there, groaning, but she knew he wasn’t really hurt.
“We have to get down the control center,” she said. “Stop fooling around.”
“I’m not,” he said without lifting his head from the thick carpeting that covered the floor.
She ignored him as her body adjusted to gravity. Once she felt steady again, she hurried through the main salon, and into the crew space. The shuttle was just as lavish as the super yacht, but set up with simple controls so that a single person could pilot the ship. She hurried into the cockpit area, which had two captain’s chairs and was surrounded by touch displays.
“How are we getting out of here?” Cordair said, dropping into the other chair and strapping himself in. “If Evans has control of the ship, he won’t open the bubble.”
“He doesn’t have to,” Lynn Faulk said, her eyes scanning the preflight checklist that the computer had already run. “As soon as we lift off the Silent Partner, a failsafe will open the bubble automatically. The only way to stop us is to shut down the ship completely and disconnect the auxiliary power systems. I doubt he can do that.”
The ship was clamped down to the Silent Partner’s hull, but the shuttle controlled the clamps. She released them and fed power to the repulser lifts. The shuttle rose a few meters into the air, and the bubble began to retract. As soon as the opening above them was large enough, she took the shuttle straight up.
“That ship is getting dangerously close,” Cordair said, pointing to an older model battleship.
Lynn recognized the markings on the ship. It was an Ahzco Mora class warship. She tapped an icon on one of the display screens, which activated the ship’s deflector shields.
“They won’t be a problem,” Lynn said.
“How do you know?” Cordair said.
She turned the shuttle toward the tunnel that led from the Alluenza system and engaged the ship’s main drive.
“Because I’ve already seen about it,” Lynn said. “Now, shut up unless you see them powering up their laser cannons. We’re getting out of here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Alex and Candice pulled themselves through the narrow service corridors. The security team wasn’t far behind. Hiding wasn’t enough to avoid them. They were like hounds on the scent and just kept coming. Alex had cut the lights in one section and powered down the security cameras, but the crew of the ship was working against him, making his job more difficult. The artificial gravity system was in the process of being rebooted, and the crew already had the main engines engaged again. If Alex could have given the huge ship all his attention, he was certain he could stay ahead of the crew, but he was running for his life at the same time.
“In there,” Candice said, pointing toward a small door. “That’s the crew stairwell.”
“You don’t use the lifts?” Alex said, knowing the vast ship had several elevators.
“Only in the freight area,” Candice said. “Stews and deckhands use the stairs.”
She was in front of him, leading the way. Alex had pushed her ahead of him just in case the security team got close enough to take a shot at them. The winding corridors were great for staying hidden, but Alex had seen the security team on the ship’s surveillance cameras. They were fast, and they were thorough. What he needed was a space large enough that he could see them long before they saw him.
The gravity was slowly coming online. Alex and Candice drifted to the floor just inside the stairwell. Alex could feel the gravity pulling him down but knew it was only a fraction of normal power. He jumped up the stairs and flew up to the first landing. The stairwell was a standard zigzag shape, with landings between each floor. Candice followed.
“They’ve got the gravity back on,” she said.
“Yeah, let’s keep moving,” Alex replied.
He hadn’t told her that he controlled the ship. The explanation would take too long, and with the crew working against him, there wasn’t a lot that Alex could do. He needed to do more than simply switch systems off, he needed to trip breakers and overload circuits, perhaps even cut the power to the bridge. But to do any of that, he needed time. The ship was so big that manipulating the systems took his full attention.
When the belly of the huge ship opened and launched fifty unmanned drones, Alex barely noticed. He was bounding through the entrance to the grand concourse. Each step was like a leap, his entire body felt strong even though he knew it was just the lack of gravity. It was a bit like being in the Titan battle suit, but he had to remember that he had no armor, no real weapons, just the fillet knife. What he needed was a way to neutralize the security team. He could feel them coming. It was like he was some small animal being chased by a pack of wolves.
“Where are we going?” Candice asked.
She was breathing hard, and her skin was pale. Alex was worried about her. Maybe it was the stress. Running for one’s life was difficult to get a handle on.
“I don’t know,” Alex said. “I need a place to trap them.”
Candice was silent for a minute. Alex thought she was just trying to catch her breath. Bounding and bouncing through the grand concourse wasn’t as taxing as climbing the stairs, but they were still moving as fast as they could, which took a lot of energy.
“The theater,” she said in a huff.
“What?”
“The theater,” Candice repeated. “It’s perfect.”
“For what? Hiding?”
“No, trapping the security force,” she said. “I’ll hide. You lure them in. I’ll lock the main doors. It shouldn’t be too hard. You escape through the emergency exit. In the hallway beyond, the staff keeps rolling food carts. All you have to do is put one in front of the emergency exit door. The hallway is so narrow, they won’t be able to open it. The crew is always lecturing us on keeping that corridor clear in case of emergencies.”
Alex considered the idea. It had merit, but only if she was right about the carts in the hallway. Emergency exits couldn’t be locked from the outside and Alex had no tools. If there wasn’t something to block the door, the security team would catch him.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” Candice said. “Trust me.”
That was the difficult part. Candice appeared to be on his side, but it could all be an elaborate ruse. A vibration shook the concourse. Alex looked up and saw the shuttle lifting off above them. He knew he desperately needed to assess the situation using his connection to the Silent Partner’s computer systems, but there was no time.
“Okay,” he said.
“That way,” Candice said, pointing to a set of double doors with large, ornate handles.
Alex dashed toward the doors and yanked one open. The theater was built in the old style. There were rows and rows of seats. A central aisle ran down the middle, sloping down toward the curtain-covered screen.
“Find a place to hide,” Alex ordered.
He didn’t wait for her to respond. There wasn’t enough time. He had to ensure he could find something to block the emergency exit. The wide aisle of the theater was carpeted and went down long steps. A row of tiny lights lined each side of the aisle, and there were wall sconces that shone light up and down on the acoustic paneled walls. The massive seats in the theater were leather, and all the fixtures were gold. The ceiling was made of bronze tiles that formed ornate patterns, and long crimson curtains hung between the wall sconces. The only thing that seemed different was a small exit sign in one corner of the lower section of the theater. It was far enough from the screen that it wouldn’t distract from the show, and the red light ensured that it could be seen without causing a glare that might compete with the screen.
Alex raced down, jumping from one step to the next, feeling as if he was barely touching them, although he could tell that gravity was increasing. His heart was pounding as he reached the emergency exit. The metal door was painted black and flanked by the heavy red curtains. Alex pushed open the door and had to squint at the bright light from the maintenance corridor beyond. Like all the service areas, the hallway was narrow, and to his relief, Alex found that Candice hadn’t been lying. There were several heavy pushcarts just outside the emergency exit. They were rectangle carts, almost as tall as he was. Pushed against the wall, there was just enough room for a person to shimmy past, but if he moved one beside the door and turned it longways, it would only allow the emergency door to open a few inches. Alex didn’t know if it would hold the security team for long, but it was the best option he had. Racing back up to the big double doors, Alex looked for Candice. She was nowhere in sight, but the security team was.
“There!” one of the security people shouted.
Alex looked up just as the team of ten security agents, each in black uniform with armor inserts across their chests, shoulders, elbows, and knees raised their weapons. They were armed with laser pistols. Alex dove back into the theater and nearly stumbled down the steps along the central aisle. The security force was close enough that he could hear them as he ran. They burst into the theater just as Alex reached the end of the long central aisle. He dove to the ground in front of the row of big seats just as several laser beams shot toward him. Some hit the seats, and others impacted the curtain over the screen. Alex glanced up. There were scorch marks on the curtain, but the lasers hadn’t burned through. They were firing stun blasts, not lethal bolts of highly focused light that would have easily burned through both the curtain and screen.
Hurrying on his hands and knees, Alex could hear the security team. They sounded more like a group of bullies than trained security experts.
“Get him!”
“Go, go, go!”
“I can’t see him.”
“We’ve got to get lower.”
Alex had to leap to his feet and throw himself against the emergency door. He feared they might spot him. Perhaps they had anticipated his plan and were covering the emergency exit, but he moved fast.
“There!” someone behind him shouted, but Alex was through the doorway before the blasts came.
Fortunately for Alex, the door had a spring mechanism designed to keep the emergency exit closed. It swung shut behind him. Alex saw flashes of light from the darkness of the theater just before the metal door closed with a loud click. He didn’t waste a second moving one of the rolling food carts into position. He turned it longways, blocking the emergency exit, and then he ran. The plan would only work if Candice could get the double doors locked somehow. Alex could lock them using the ship’s security system, but he feared that they would just be immediately unlocked. The crew was scanning for any outside commands and reversing them almost as fast as he could make them. He needed to get up to the grand concourse and help Candice, or their plan would fail. And there was too much at stake for Alex to let that happen.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Commander! We have drones incoming,” the radar operator announced.
“Identify,” Loman Haley barked. “Chief West, tell me your Titans are on station.”
